


Of Fighting Monsters and Running From Your Problems

by Marzos



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F, Halfblood!AU, after events of first series, but ignores the Heroes of Olympus Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-10 04:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4376834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marzos/pseuds/Marzos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla doesn't want to be a hero. She only wants to survive after almost being murdered in her group home, accidentally getting her best friend killed, and being visited by her friend's very angry mother. Who was apparently a goddess. </p><p>And, according to the annoying boy who turned out to be half goat, this was a normal day in the life of people like Carmilla. </p><p>Great. </p><p>(Halfblood!AU)</p><p>(Canon divergent after the events of The Last Olympian. Basically, the Heroes of Olympus series doesn't happen)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Carmilla is Almost Murdered (the other guy wasn't so lucky)

When Carmilla was left alone, just her and Ell, living in a group home wasn’t that bad. It was a nice colonial house, with decent food and toys and a nice bed to sleep in at night. Her life could have been a lot worse.

She wasn’t left alone, which was the problem.

“Okay, Carmilla, pick a card.”

“Ell, I’m trying to _read.”_

Blonde hair tickled Carmilla’s face as Ell hung her head off her bed, looking upside down at her best friend. “Come on, Carm, let me try it?”

Carmilla sighed. “Alright, Ell.”

Ell grinned and showed Carmilla a deck of cards. “You know what to do.”

Carmilla plucked a card from the deck, ripping it in half. “Okay, I picked a card and ripped it in half.”

“Now give me the pieces. My eyes are closed, see?”

Carmilla put the pieces in Ell’s open hand. “Ell, you should sit up, you’re going to pass out hanging upside down for so long.”

“Just hold on. Okay.” Ell pressed her hands together.

“Now, look in your book.”

Carmilla did. “What the _heck,_ Ell?”

“Is it your card?”

“Yes!”

Ell sat up on the bed. “Ta-da?”

Carmilla looked at the card, now not ripped. “How do I know this is the same card? It’s not ripped in half.”

“Well, a deck of cards has 52 cards. Count them.”

She got up and grabbed the deck, rifling through. Once, twice, three times. 52 cards.

“Ell, how do you _do_ that?”

Ell shrugged. “I dunno.”

“You won’t even tell your best friend?”

“Nope.”

“One day I’m going to make you tell me.” Carmilla announced, sitting next to Ell on the bed. “What do you want to do today?”

“Well, breakfast would be a good idea.”

“I _hate_ eating with everyone else. They keep making stupid jokes and saying you’re my girlfriend. _After_ the guys try and hit on me.”

Ell frowned; the tips of her fingers laid over Carmilla’s hand gently. “I don’t mind, do you?”

Carmilla didn’t mind. Not at all. She just didn’t like that they said it like she should be ashamed by it. “It’s the _principle_ of the thing, Ell. Why…?”

Ell looked away from Carmilla, blushing. “No reason.”

“Because you know I already love you, Ell.” Ell grinned, giving her a peck on the cheek, Carmilla closing one eye.

“Hey, good morning bros!”

“Kirsch, what are you doing here?” Carmilla growled.

He was the epitome of geek: gangly, with a retainer that gave him a lisp, and hair that was always kind of cowlicky with a few pieces sticking out. No one else hung out with him because he walked kind of funny. Ell, unfortunately, was too nice sometimes.

“It’s time for breakfast. I just wanted to grab you before all the food is gone.”

“We’ll be down in a minute.”

“Oh, come on Carm, I’m hungry!” Ell got up. “Hey, Kirsch, want to see another trick?”

“You know it, dude!”

Kirsch took a card as the three of them walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Oh, well, everyone, look! Ell and Carmilla have finally arrived to grace us with their presence this morning.”

“... Good morning, Maman,” Carmilla grumbled, jamming her hands in her pockets and looking down at the floor. Ell looked at Kirsch, who had started to nibble on the card he took from her hand.

“Kirsch!” Ell grabbed the card from his mouth while everyone else laughed.

“Hey, don’t laugh, he has ‘pika’. I read it in a book.” Ell answered.

“Yeah,” Carmilla said, “You should all laugh at this. Hey, Kirsch, say ‘she sells seashells by the seashore’.”

“...She shells sheshells by the sheshore?” Kirsch said, confused, and everyone laughed again except for Ell and Maman.

“Carm, that wasn’t nice.”

“But it was _funny.”_

“Ell is right, Carmilla,” Maman said, “We do not make fun of the other children. You’re all wretched enough without turning on each other.”

Carmilla hated Maman. _Everyone_ hated Maman. She had a talent for backhanded insults.

“Ell, come sit down, dear.”

Ell slunk to her seat, uncomfortable. Carmilla joined her, and Kirsch sat down across from them.

“I made something special for you, my little glittering girl,” Maman ran the back of her hand gently down Ell’s cheek, “I will be right back.”

“I don’t know why they look at me like that,” Ell whispered to Carmilla.

“Like what?”

“LIke I _want_ to be her favorite. Why does she have to like me?”

“Well, you’re kind of hot and everything…”

Carmilla glared at Kirsch. Ell looked amused.

“...Sorry,” Kirsch mumbled, looking down at the single muffin on his breakfast plate. He devoured it in three quick bites and started going to work on the wrapper. That was another reason he had no friends. He was just weird.

“And here we are!” Maman walked back in with a plate stacked high with pancakes. “Blueberry pancakes for you.”

“Can I have some?” Tyler, one of the other boys, asked.

“No, they’re for Ell.” Maman answered simply.

“But--”

“Are you _arguing_ with Maman, you insolent child?”

Tyler shrunk down in his seat.

“Um...actually, Maman, thank you, but I’m not really a fan of--”

“You will eat them and _enjoy them.”_

“Okay, okay!” Ell squeaked, taking the knife and fork under her glare. Maman smiled when Ell shoved a piece of pancake in her mouth and started chewing. She left the room.

“Do either of you want any?” Ell asked.

“Sure!” Kirsch exclaimed, grabbing one and munching happily. Carmilla rolled her eyes.

“Kirsch, you got blueberry stuck in your teeth.”

Kirsch was about to answer when Tyler got up.

“Hey, I want pancakes too! Share them with the rest of us.”

Ell frowned. “I _would,_ but there’s not enough for all of you.”

“You always do those dumb magic tricks,” Tyler said, walking over and grabbing the plate, “Pull some more out of your hat or something.”

The other kids were all cheering Tyler on at this point. Kirsch looked like he wanted to do something, but he was kind of terrified.

So, of course, it’s up to Carmilla. She grabbed Tyler’s wrist.

“Leave her _alone,_ Ty, they’re for Ell.”

“Why do you stand up for the Freak and the Geek? She’s got weird stuff around her all the time--”

“That isn’t _her_ fault!”

“--And I don’t even need to tell you how he got his nickname.”

“That isn’t fair!” Kirsch squeaked, sitting up straighter in his chair.

“Yeah, we aren’t friends,” Carmilla added, “I just tolerate him because I’m not a _douche_ like you. Now let. The plate. Go.”

Carmilla locked eyes with Tyler as she said it. Something weird happened. Tyler blinked rapidly for a few moments. “Uh… sure.”

“Now, back away from us.”

“Right. Backing away, now. Sorry.”

Tyler took a few paces back, a faraway look in his eyes. The other kids looked sufficiently weirded out.

“What did you do to Tyler?” one of the girls exclaimed.

Carmilla had no idea. But, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to have fun with it.

“Now… um, compliment Kirsch.”

“Cool Captain America shirt…?”

Kirsch looked down at the grubby t-shirt his was wearing and gave Carmilla a thumbs up.

“Okay, Tyler, want to go sit back down?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. Knock yourself out.”

The entire thing stopped being humorous when Tyler literally knocked himself out.

“Carmilla! What did you _do?”_

“I used an idiom, I didn’t expect him to bash his head into a table!”

Everyone else was screaming now and pointing at her. Carmilla held her hands up.

“I didn’t even _touch_ him, you saw me, what could I have possibly done?”

 _“What_ is going on here?”

Eight heads all turned to look at Maman at the same time.

 _Intimidating_ would be an understatement to describe Maman. Every angle of her was so sharp that Carmilla was sometimes afraid she would cut Ell when she hugged her. Her hawkish face scanned across the terrified huddle of kids, then the unconscious body of Tyler, and finally Carmilla.

“... Who is responsible for this?”

“HER!”

“That isn’t true! She told him to knock himself out, but he didn’t have to do it!” Kirsch exclaimed.

“I can do without the defending, thank you,” Carmilla muttered. “Look, I didn’t do anything, they’ll tell you I didn’t--”

“Miss Karnstein, you will come with me. As for the rest of you, douse some cold water on the boy.”

She grabbed Carmilla by the wrist and pulled her away. Ell got out of her seat.

“Maman--”

“Ell, it’s fine, don’t get yourself in trouble!” Carmilla shouted, before disappearing up the stairs.

* * *

 

Being sent to Maman’s bedroom was never fun. Carmilla had only been dragged in there a handful of times in the fifteen years she lived there, but it always ended with smacks and a few bruises.

Especially bad was when Maman locked the door. Carmilla heard a _click_ behind her and stood as still as she could. Maman circled her.

“Carmilla…”

Once.

“Carmilla…”

Twice.

 _“Carmilla.”_ She stopped, her eyes narrowing to slits. “What do I do with you? After what you did to that poor boy…”

“I didn’t _do_ anything. He called Ell a freak and he tried to steal her food, all I did was tell him to back off and then--”

 _“Hush,_ dear, Maman is speaking.”

Carmilla’s hands balled into fists, and she grit her teeth.

“Carmilla, how dedicated you are. But so… _unnecessary._ Unimportant. Ell will do such great things. You are stone, and she is diamond. Do you really think she needs you?”

“This is getting a little personal, don’t you think? Look, I’ll apologize to Tyler. Can I just go now?”

“Go? _Go?_ We are far from done here. Sit down.”

“But I--”

“Sit on the bed, you monster.” She snapped, almost hissed. Carmilla sat down on the bed, hands gripping at the soft Egyptian cotton. “Carmilla, do you remember Mattie?”

“Um… what? _Mattie?_ What does Mattie have to do with this?”

“She was causing trouble.”

Trouble. As in, Mattie was sticking up for Kirsch and Ell and Carmilla. Her verbal smackdowns had become something of a legend. One day she just… disappeared. And a ransacked room. The _official_ explanation was that she was adopted. In the middle of the night. Which no one believed was the real explanation.

Was Maman hinting that _she_ was the explanation?

“I, uh, I’m having a little trouble following you.”

“Mattie was causing trouble. She, unfortunately, got away before she was punished. And that was not really fair, was it? But you… you, I can curb before you become a handful like _her.”_

She flashed a wicked grin. There was a problem with that grin. She had _way_ too many teeth for her mouth. Her skin suddenly seemed pale, almost translucent. Her form started to flicker. One second she was the way she always looked; then suddenly she had flaming hair; she looked normal; one of her legs looked like it was made of bronze, the other the leg of a donkey…

Carmilla leaned back. There was nothing to lean _against,_ so instead she was sort of balancing while clutching the bed. “Wh-what the Hell?”

“My master would be so displeased if I angered your little friend,” she said, licking her lips, “But it has been _so long_ since I’ve killed one of you… your blood tastes so much better… and I’m sure I can convince her that you’ve had an _accident.”_

Okay, so Carmilla was totally going to die. “Wait, wait, wait… Maman, I know sometimes I’ve caused some… disturbances, but _murder_ would be very… uh… messy wouldn’t it?”

“Not if I suck the blood from your body first.”

Carmilla moved backwards on the bed until her head hit the headboard. Maman licked her lips hungrily, her well manicured nails now very much claws--

_“Open sesame!”_

The door opened. Ell was standing next to Kirsch, who was doing some sort of weird karate pose…?

“I _still_ have no idea how I can do that…” Ell muttered to herself. Maman turned sharply to face her and Ell screamed.

_“WHAT HAPPENED TO MAMAN?”_

“She is Maman!” Kirsch shouted. Carmilla jumped off the bed, staying close to the wall.  

“Ell, get out of here, she wants me, I have no idea what’s going on but you need to _go.”_

Maman smiled. For a moment she looked normal again--which was still terrifying.

“Ell, my darling. This does not concern you. Leave now so Maman can have her snack.”

“You’re telling me you’re going to _eat_ Carmilla and you expect me to leave?”

“Oh, I hate having to babysit… Ell, I’ll give you one more chance. Go to your room with your little friend or I will make you.”

“I-I w-won’t let you hurt her.” Ell said, practically shaking.

Maman turned on Carmilla again. “My orders don’t say I have to protect her _feelings!”_

Kirsch was jumping from one leg to the other. “Oh man, oh man, oh man--” He looked like he was trying to pry off his retainer.

“STOP!”

Carmilla locked eyes with Maman. She had no idea what she was doing. But, Maman stopped.

“What…”

“You don’t want me! I’m… you’re supposed to protect me for… whoever it is that wants you to do it… but, but yeah. You want to protect me. I’m not the one you want.”

Carmilla said it slowly, pronouncing each syllable, because whatever she was doing seemed to work. She didn’t understand, but then again, she didn’t understand anything that was happening. She wasn’t going to question when it was something good.

“You’re… right. I was sent to protect you.”

“Yeah, you were, you were!” Carmilla agreed, nodding. Maman took a step back.

“Which means…” She turned around slowly. What she did next was too fast for anyone to react. Kirsch was still trying to rip off his retainer.

“I destroy you!” Maman roared, grabbing Ell and sinking her teeth into her neck.

“ELL!”

“Carmilla, CATCH!”

Kirsch had finally gotten his retainer off and threw it to her. It landed in her hands and she squealed and dropped it.

“That is the grossest--”

Except when it hit the ground, it was a sword.

Once again, Carmilla was not willing to complain when something good happened. She reached down and grabbed it.

“LEAVE ELL ALONE!” Carmilla shouted, stabbing Maman in the back as hard as she could. Maman screamed and let go of Ell, falling into a heap on the floor.

“Ell. Ell, oh my God…”

“Hey, wait, I got it!” Kirsch kneeled at Ell’s feet. He reached into his pants pocket, taking out a plastic baggie full of little golden squares. He put one on Ell’s tongue. It melted. Nothing happened.

“What are those?”

“Ambrosia. It heals stuff.”

“Why isn’t it working? Why isn't she swallowing?”

“Um, hold on.”

Carmilla knelt next to Ell, taking her hand, rubbing circles lightly with her thumb. “Ell… please, wake up… I don’t even know what I did, I didn’t mean for her to hurt you instead…”

Kirsch’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. She’s totally gone, dude. That empousa probably killed her as soon as she bit--”

“NO! Just… give her more of that magic stuff, come on, you know more about whatever is going on--”

“Ambrosia, heals wounds, it doesn’t raise the dead!”

“She CAN’T BE DEAD!”

Kirsch got up and locked the door while Carmilla laid her head lightly on Ell’s body. Oh, and Carmilla just noticed Kirsch had goat hooves. Which, sadly, was the least surprising thing to happen today.

“I didn’t mean for Maman to hurt her… I just wanted her to leave me alone… I don’t even know how I did it--”

Carmilla heard a groan, and a stirring; Maman got up shakily, golden blood leaking from the stab wound on her back. Carmilla scrambled to her knees and held out the sword, shaking. “Get away from us!”

“What… you wretched child! Do you realize what you’ve made me do?” Maman screeched. “When my master finds out--”

“NO! I don’t know what I’ve done! I don’t know how I did it, I don’t know why you’re trying to kill me, I don’t know who you’re working for, so why don’t you tell me what is going on!”

Maman stopped listening to her. She was staring at some spot above Carmilla’s head.

Carmilla turned. She stared at Ell. Above her body, there was two torches, crossed over one another. Carmilla could see the flames moving.

Kirsch bowed.

“What…?”

“You should probably bow, dude. Your friend got claimed.”

“Claimed…?”

The image began to fade; then it glowed brightly again. Maman’s eyes widened in terror as the image suddenly shattered. Sparks flew to the ground.

Except more sparks began building up, and suddenly they looked like they were forming the shape of a person, and then it wasn’t a shape anymore, someone was actually there looking down at Ell’s body.

She was a woman with shoulder length dark hair, and a robe covered in what looked like ancient runes. Where she stood fog rolled around her feet.

“You might want to kneel, dude,” Kirsch whispered, “You don’t want to make Ell’s mom angry.”

“Ell’s mom? But she’s--”

“A daughter of Hecate,” the woman answered, “My daughter. And you’re the demigod who tricked my empousa into killing her.”

Carmilla kneeled.


	2. Kirsch proves he'd make a good used car salesman

“My lady,” Maman said, “It is not my fault! This girl--”

“Without even understanding how her powers worked, tricked you into murdering my daughter! Your only job was to keep Ell safe, and you failed. You have outlived your usefulness.”

“My lady!” Maman shrieked, but it was too late; she disappeared in a shower of golden sparks.

Carmilla dropped the sword and raised her arms in surrender when Hecate turned her attention on her.

Except instead of saying something, she looked back at Ell. She knelt and gently brushed her fingers across her face.

“So many of my children, dead in the second Titan War…” Hecate said softly, “More than any other god. I only wanted to keep my child safe. To keep her away from the violence and war. I thought she would have a chance… until _you.”_

“Uh--Hecate, lady--m’lady--whatever--” Hecate snapped her fingers and chains held Kirsch to the floor.

“Silence, farm animal! Do you think I forget that you were sent as a _guardian?”_

Carmilla looked at Kirsch. “You’re the best whoever-they-are could send for us?”

“Hey, I don’t see you dead right now. Whose sword saved your tail, huh? Besides, I would have been able to do my job if _she_ hadn’t assigned a _monster_ to babysit--”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, it was totally understandable why!” Kirsch squeaked.

“I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t understand anything that has happened in the past fifteen minutes.”

“You don’t need to understand. Would you prefer a raven or a guinea pig?”

_“What?”_

“I have a daughter who enjoys turning men who bother her into guinea pigs. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to try it. On the other hand, you do seem more like a raven…”

“I don’t know what to tell you--I--I didn’t mean for that to happen. Ell was my _friend._ I loved her, I didn’t--”

“I don’t care why you did it. My daughter is dead, and you are responsible. That is the only point of concern for me.”

Hecate was right.

Carmilla was confused and scared and guilty as she looked at the body, eyes open and glassy, staring at the ceiling. She spread out her arms.

“Alright.”

“Wait, wait, _what?_ Carmilla, don’t go all sacrifice-y on me!”

“This is my fault. I killed her. I deserve whatever I get.”

“An attempt at being noble will not make me spare you, halfblood.”

Carmilla didn’t answer.

“Of every halfblood, I get the only one in the world that has no sense of self preservation,” Kirsch groaned. He started desperately chewing on the chains tethering him to the floor. Hecate reached a hand and Carmilla felt a strange tingling; she shut her eyes tight. When she opened them, she looked down at her arm.

A distinct lack of feathers. But she was looking at a long, white sleeve.

Kirsch dropped the chains he was gnawing with a clatter and kneeled again.

Carmilla ran a hand through her hair; it felt silky, like it was shampooed and conditioned. She hadn’t even showered today.

Hecate lowered her hand.

“Your mother has made her point.”

_Mother?_

“She cannot protect you forever, daughter of Aphrodite,” Hecate said, “And this does not prevent me from cursing you--you will have to make decisions in the future. And as the goddess of crossroads, I will ensure that those choices are _very_ difficult for you to make.”

She disappeared in a cloud of mist and fog. Carmilla picked up the sword again and cut the chains around Kirch’s ankles like they were made of butter.

“Okay, goat boy, let’s go.”

“Er, um, yeah, let’s go Carm-sexy--I mean, Carmilla! Carmilla.”

“Wow. I _really_ need to find a mirror.” From what Carmilla could tell, she had a faint glow like she had bathed in moonlight or something.

There wasn’t time to look for a mirror when Carmilla heard the sound of sirens.

“Carmilla, get down!” Carmilla got to her knees, crawling to the other side of the room and poking her head over the ledge of the window.

“Someone called the cops?” Carmilla whispered.

“There was screaming and everything.”

And now the police would find them in a bedroom next to a dead body. Great.

“What the Hell do we do now?”

“Only thing we can do!” Kirsch scrambled to the other side and opened another window. “Out the back, come on!”

“Are you _insane?_ We can’t run, we’ll look so guilty! _And_ it’s a second story window!”

“Okay. What’s your plan?”

_Sorry, officers. You see, our foster mother turned out to be an empousa and sucked Ell’s blood, then her mother appeared (she’s a goddess, crazy, right?) and made her disappear without a trace. Thanks for checking up on us!_

Out the window it is. Carmilla walked back, stopping at Ell’s body first. There was a bulge in her pants pocket - her pack of cards. Carmilla grabbed them before joining Kirsch at the other window.

“I won’t be able to run with a broken ankle.”

“Demigods are made of tougher stuff. _Jump!”_

Carmilla jumped, landing nimbly on her feet.

_Holy crap, I didn’t die._

_Holy crap, my mother is a goddess._

_Holy crap, I have officially gone insane._

There was a thump and Kirsch got to his feet. “I’m okay! Let’s get out of here.”

They ran until they hit main street, stopping to catch their breath.

“We need somewhere to lay low, I need to make a plan if we want to get to Long Island--”

Carmilla grabbed Kirsch by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall of the nearest building.

“Hey!”

“You are a _guardian._ You were supposed to _protect_ us. Now Ell is dead, and I just got cursed by a goddess, and now I’m the _daughter of a goddess_ and---and--I don’t even know what is happening to me and wow,” Carmilla caught sight of herself in the reflection of the shop window. “Am I going to look like that forever?”

“Naw dude, Aphrodite’s blessing only lasts a few days.”

“My hair usually frizzes so badly in this weather--okay, okay, the _point is_ … what is happening to me? You are going to tell me right now.”

“I will, I _promise._ Can I have my sword though, dude? As a show of good faith?”

“...Fine. How has no one noticed I’m holding one?”

Kirsch popped the retainer back in. “It’s the Mist. The stuff that hides people like us from mortals. Demigods can see through it, but sometimes even they can get tricked by it--that’s why you didn’t know Maman was a monster until it was too late.”

Carmilla felt guilt churning in her gut; she pushed it away. There wasn’t time to break down now. “Demigods, Mist, Hecate, empousas, Aphrodite--I recognize Aphrodite. She’s Greek, right? One of those gods?”

“Yeah. She’s real.”

“And you are half goat, so you’re a satyr, right?”

“Yep. And people are starting to stare at us because you’re pinning me to a wall and look like a supermodel, so…”

Carmilla backed away from him. She hated him. She _never_ liked Kirsch, not when he was the annoying tagalong Ell tolerated, and especially not when he was the guardian that failed to help either of them.

On the _other_ hand, he was also her only ally. “Okay, barn-for-brains, let’s go.”

“Where?” Kirsch asked, jogging after Carmilla.

“Bethlehem Public Library.”

“Why are we going to the _library?”_

Carmilla looked over her shoulder at him. “One, because I need some serious research to understand this. Two, in your case, I can’t yell at you in a library.”

Kirsch smiled nervously. “Uh, yeah. Reading. Let’s go.”

* * *

 

The Bethlehem Public Library had a small room in the back. Sometimes speakers were brought in, or it was used as a storytime room for kids. Carmilla stacked a copy of Greek mythology books on the table as Kirsch talked to her.

She had special glasses that she usually wore to help her read, but they were back at the group home. She wished she had them now, but she slogged through the books as best she could.

“Hecate… goddess of magic and crossroads…” Carmilla took the deck of cards. “No wonder she was so good at those magic tricks. Oh, _Ell._ You really didn’t know how you did it.”

“She’s not one of the more well known gods, but she’s a chick you don’t want to tick off.”

“Apparently not as scary as Aphrodite. What’s so scary about Aphrodite?”

“You’d be surprised, dude. There was this one camper at Camp Halfblood that dressed up as a daughter of Ares so she could slay a dragon in the last Titan War--”

“Okay, I do not understand what Camp Halfblood is _or_ the ‘last Titan War’, so you’re going to have to back up.”

Kirsch leaned in at the table. “Camp Halfblood is your home, dude. It’s a place for halfbloods to go where they can be safe and learn the skills they need to survive outside of camp. Halfbloods like us always have monsters who want to kill us--”

 _“You’re_ a halfblood?”

Kirsch grinned. “Yep. My father is Apollo--”

“And your mother is a goat?”

“A _wood nymph,”_ Kirsch grumbled, “She was a _wood nymph._ Point is, satyrs like me are supposed to go around the country, finding halfbloods and bringing them back to camp. You and Ell were under protection by that empousa--most of the time we find you guys a lot earlier. Around twelve or thirteen. But, monsters were avoiding Maman. Well, around the home anyway… ”

Carmilla thought about all the weird stuff that happened to Ell. A lot of ‘stranger danger’ type stuff. And rabid stray dogs. Maman never let them leave the house without her, and she was always kicking them away in the ribs and shrieking at those ‘rabid creatures from Hell’ to leave Ell alone. Occasionally in the right light Carmilla could swear that they had red glowing eyes.

She was starting to think that ‘creatures from Hell’ was more literal than they had thought.

“... So, yeah, it took us longer to notice. You’re the first halfbloods I ever got assigned to.”

“Oh, lucky us.”

Kirsch’s ears, now pointy, seemed to droop slightly. “Dude, I am so sorry. It isn’t your fault, though. That stuff was called charmspeak. Daughters of Aphrodite can use it sometimes. You didn’t even know how it worked.”

“Doesn’t bring Ell back,” Carmilla answered.

Kirsch was silent.

“I guess we should get moving then or whatever. Come on. I’m already going to be on the run for murder, I don’t think I can get into much more trouble taking out a bunch of books I’m not going to return.”

She got up and walked out of the room, heading toward the counter. Kirsch started chewing the cover of a hardback copy of _The Odyssey_ Carmilla grabbed.

“Kirsch, stop it. Someone is staring at us.”

She was in line to take out books; Carmilla could see that it was every book in the Harry Potter series. As she walked up to the librarian and she began putting her stamps on the inside cover of the books, she leaned in and whispered urgently to her.

“Did I already get on the news?” Carmilla grumbled.

“Naw. She’s… ” Kirsch strained his ears, “She’s, uh, asking the librarian,” Kirsch’s face paled, “If she notices that I have _hooves.”_

Carmilla’s eyes widened and she looked at the girl. “Seriously? You sure--”

“NO, I did not say boots! I said _hooves,_ how come no one ever sees any of this stuff--ugh!” Her fingers scrunched and she walked away, frustrated.

“Alright Kirsch, let’s move,” Carmilla said, putting her books on the counter. The librarian checked her out.

“Wait a second, dude.” Kirsch walked toward the girl.

“Kirsch, why are you trying to get that girl to talk about you?”

“Mortals can’t see through Mist. Most of ‘em, anyway. If she can--”

“All the more reason why we shouldn’t be here, isn’t it?”

“Unless she’s a halfblood.”

The girl was grumbling to herself while reaching high to get something off a bookshelf. Kirsch sneaked up behind her and sniffed.

“What the heck?”

Wow, Kirsch. Way to be subtle.

“Hey! Nice to meet you.”

“Oh my God, I knew you were weird. Why do you have goat hooves and why are you following me?”

“Not following you, I just noticed that you--erm--smelled.”

The girl’s face turned red. “Get away from me, please.”

“No, wait! I just--um--”

Actually, it was kind of a good thing that Kirsch was failing. The last thing Carmilla wanted was to have to deal with more people.

“--What if I told you that you are special and could go on an adventure with me right now?”

Her eyes widened, her eyes flitting down to his hooves. “I’m listening.”

Okay, Carmilla was really annoyed at Kirsch, but she had to give the furry little idiot credit for spinning this like he was a used car salesmen.

“Alright! Welcome to the team. You hungry?”

“Starving!”

“We’ll get something to eat. See, food. Your life’s getting better already! What’s your name, dude?”

She followed him out of the library and Carmilla followed behind; she did not want to talk to this girl that was already annoying her.

“My name is Laura. Laura Hollis.”

* * *

 

They stopped in Nick’s Pizza Restaurant, to eat something before the trip to Long Island. Kirsch was filling the girl in on the situation. Carmilla refused to say anything. This girl was an idiot. It was clear that she had no concept of stranger danger. ‘Come with me, we’ll get food’ seemed like the teenager equivalent of Kirsch saying he had candy in his van.

“So, if I’m a halfblood, who’s my other parent?” Laura asked.

“Depends. Do you live with your mom or your dad?”

“I live with my dad. I was raised by him and my grandma. My mom died when I was really young. They don’t like to talk about it.”

“Sounds like it’s your mom, then.”

Laura grabbed her slice of pizza, taking a bite. “Oh my God, this is so cool! So, I’m like a superhero, right? Basically?”

Kirsch nodded vigorously. “Yeah, dude! Why do you think I’m wearin’ a Captain America t-shirt? You’re a superhero. Being a demigod is awesome! You get to go on adventures and fight monsters, save the world--”

“Kirsch, can I talk to you? Like, right now?”

“But I haven’t even finished my pizza!”

“Come on, Kirsch.” Carmilla grabbed him by the ear and pulled him with her into the family bathroom.

“What is it, dude?”

“Kirsch, do you realize that we are kidnapping a girl who, if anything, looks a little younger than I am?”

“It’s not kidnapping if she wants to come with us.”

“You’re lying to her.”

“What did I lie about?”

“Kirsch, I have been living the demigod lifestyle for all of a half hour, and I am reasonably certain we’re not galloping off into the sunset toward fun adventures and good times. And I would not call myself a superhero.”

“Look, maybe I’m stretching the truth a little, but I need this. This was my first assignment, and I’m supposed to bring back two halfbloods. Now I’m sure she’s one of them. She reeks of mortal smell, but it’s starting to wear off. Her dad was probably covering it up, keeping us from finding her.”

“But, Kirsch--”

“Carmilla, please. Strength in numbers, right?”

“Competent numbers.”

“After what happened to Ell, I’m not just letting another demigod leave to be killed.”

Carmilla’s jaw set. She hated Ell’s name coming out of his mouth. As soon as they got to this camp she was going to give him the beating he deserved.

On the other hand, if most monsters were half as bad as Maman, Laura probably would need some training.

“Alright. But you’re in charge of her, alright? You deal with making sure she’s fed and you keep her entertained until we get there.”

Kirsch saluted. “Promise!”

Carmilla and Kirsch exited the bathroom. Laura was looking at a TV on the wall and picking the pepperonis off her pizza.

“Hey, Laura, ready to go?” Carmilla asked.

“I don’t have money.”

Neither did she. On the other hand… she, apparently, had the ability to perform minor hypnosis. She grabbed the little pouch of drachmas Kirsch had on him and walked up to the counter.

“Hey, here’s your money for the pizza.”

She placed the coins in the worker’s palm.

“Is this money real?”

“Uh, yes? Definitely? This is real money. Genuine silver dollars.”

Carmilla bit her lip. The worker shrugged. “Nothing that says we can’t take that kind of money.”

Carmilla breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Come on, guys!” Kirsch got up. Laura didn’t follow; she looked glued to her seat.

“Uh, Laura, we got to move here.”

“You look a lot like that girl on the news. But, like, way more attractive.”

Carmilla and Kirsch looked at the TV. The subtitles of the news read:

_Carmilla Karnstein and Wilson Kirsch, wanted in connection to the murder of Ell Schraeder…_

A picture of Kirsch appeared on the screen, next to a picture of Carmilla. She was beaming with one arm wrapped around Ell.

She almost never took a picture without her.

“Um… yeah, how about that. I-it’s quite the coincidence, isn’t it? Complete coincidence.”

Laura scrambled to her feet. “Oh my God, you are her!”

Charmspeak time!

“Come on, it’s not that big of a deal. Just calm down.”

“Are you serious?”

Okay, so maybe Carmilla still hadn’t gotten the hang of it. Laura pushed past her and ran outside. Kirsch followed after her. Carmilla did too--that worker was totally going to call the cops, and they needed to get out of there anyway.

“Hey, Laura, what are you doing?”

“Calling the police!”

“Wait, you’re using a phone?”

“Hello, nine-one-one? My name is Laura Hollis and I just saw--”

“DROP THAT PHONE!” Kirch shouted, tackling Laura and grabbing the phone from her hands, smashing it on the street.

Carmilla doubted the Mist making them see a regular teenage boy rather than a satyr tackling a girl and smashing her phone would make that much difference as far as consequences.

“Let me go! Let me go! No wonder my dad never let me go outside!”

“Dude, you don’t even know what you just--”

Kirsch froze. Carmilla and Laura froze. There was a sound of growling.

“Oh my God, what are those?”

“Hellhounds!” Kirsch said, “You see? Your cell phone attracted them!”

“But--but that doesn’t even make any sense!”

“Kirsch is half goat, your mother is a goddess, and _that_ is where you draw the line?” Carmilla asked, pulling Laura to her feet, “Come on! Let’s MOVE! Kirsch, you’re a guardian. Now’s a good time to, you know, guard us!”

“On it!” Kirsch took a set of pan pipes from his pocket. He played a quick tune that sounded kind of like ‘Blurred Lines’ (of course Kirsch’s music would, Carmilla thought) and, suddenly, plants were erupting through the asphalt to ensnare the large, pitch black mastiffs in weeds. “They’ll bite and claw their way out really fast, book it!”

“Welcome to the life of a demigod,” Carmilla said, taking Laura’s hand and running.

 

 

 

 

**  
**

   

   

   

   


	3. Kirsch calls in the Reinforcements

If Laura wanted to be a superhero, she really needed to work on her cardio.

“Oh my god--”

 _“Gods,”_ Kirsch corrected.

“Why are we wasting our breath when we’re being chased?”

“I can’t run anymore,” Laura gasped, stopping, putting her hands on her knees.

“Really? _Really?_ We need to fight the hellhounds. Still think letting her come was a good idea, Kirsch?”

“Shut up and _catch!”_ Kirsch threw the retainer at Carmilla again; she didn’t drop it this time in disgust and watched it morph into a sword.

Carmilla was surprisingly calm. Well, she was _terrified_ about the whole having to

fight monsters thing, but also clear headed. Like, _of course I’m supposed to be doing this._

The first hellhound that jumped at her was sliced cleanly in half. Another was pushed back with the blunt part of the sword.

“Kirsch, a little help?”

“Uh, right! Um…” Kirsch threw his pan pipes at a hellhound, bonking it on the head.

“What kind of help is that Kirsch?” Carmilla snapped.

“Excuse me for trying to--LOOK OUT!”

A hellhound caught Carmilla by surprise. It was only with her sword that Carmilla was able to keep the hellhound back. She used the flat of the blade, pushing on the monster’s throat to keep it at bay as it snapped at her.

“Get _away!_ Down boy, _down_ \--”

“HIYAAAAH!”

Almost faster than Carmilla could register, a hand karate chopped the hellhound on top of the head, knocking it out cold.

“What… huh…?”

“Krav maga,” Laura said, holding a hand out to you, “Dad insisted I take lessons. I guess now I know why he was so paranoid.”

Carmilla took Laura’s hand, letting Laura pull her up. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Excuse me for a second.” Laura reached into her pocket, grabbing a canister and spraying at another hellhound trying to sneak up on her from behind. “Dad _also_ insisted I carry bear spray everywhere.”

Carmilla grabbed her sword, raising it above her head and putting the two hellhounds out of commission. “... Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m actually really terrified right now, though, so we should start moving before I pass out from terror.”

She just karate chopped one hellhound and maced another. Even Carmilla could appreciate that. “Fine. Let’s get moving. I have no idea what those people saw but I think we’re starting to attract a crowd. Kirsch!”

“Coming, dudes!” Kirsch grabbed his pan pipes, following behind Carmilla and Laura.

“So, how are we supposed to get to Long Island? None of us can drive a car.” Laura asked.

“Don’t worry Laura, I know exactly what to do! We’ll be at Camp Halfblood in no--”

“Oh no we _won’t.”_ Carmilla snapped.

“Carmilla--”

“No Kirsch, shut _up._ You have ruined my life in less than twenty-four hours, and you know what? I am tired of your BS optimism. You have _no idea_ what you’re doing, and hellhounds just tried to kill us, and you are the _worst_ guardian ever. Why should we listen to anything you say, huh? _Huh?”_

Kirsch’s lower lip stuck out.

“Aw, Carmilla, you don’t need to be so harsh. Kirsch is trying his best.” Laura pat Kirsch on the head. “Hey, Kirsch, it’s okay--”

“No.” Kirsch wiped his eyes, “Carmilla is right. I need to do better. I can’t do this by myself. It’s time I called in _reinforcements.”_

“And how do you propose we do that without a cellphone…?”

Kirsch looked at Carmilla, flashing a grin. “It’s time I show you guys something _really_ cool. All we need is a rainbow.”

“A rainbow? How is a rainbow going to--”

“There’s a fountain in the park,” Laura interrupted, “We could try there!”

“Alright, let’s go! I promise I won’t disappoint you this time, guys. I’ll get us to camp safe, I promise!”

“And I trust your word implicitly,” Carmilla muttered; the sword turned back into a retainer and Carmilla put it in the pocket of her skinny jeans. Laura was following Kirsch like an excited puppy.

* * *

 

They all walked in silence until they got to the park. Carmilla finally got tired of the silence.

“So… Laura. How old are you?”

“I’m fourteen. I’m going into high school at the end of this summer.”

Great. She didn’t even start high school and now Carmilla is stuck babysitting her.

“Hey, look, the fountain! Alright, guys, time to see something _really_ cool.” Kirsch fished into his pack and pulled out some gold coins.

Was Kirsch’s pack magic? Because whenever he wanted something it sort of just appeared in the pack. The panpipes certainly didn’t look like they should fit, yet he took them out of the fanny pack all the time.

“Okay Carmilla, Laura, watch this: O Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, accept our offering.” Kirsch flipped the gold coin into the rainbow spray of the fountain. It shimmered and disappeared.

“What now?” Laura asked.

“Hmmm… I know! I have a friend who’ll be able to help. Show us Danny Lawrence, Hunters of Artemis.”

“What the Hell does that mean--”

But then the image rippled, shimmered, and suddenly a face appeared in the rainbow.

The girl looked about sixteen years old, with long red hair in a braid with silver woven through it. She didn’t look like she noticed the message--whatever it was called--because she wasn’t looking.

“Yo, Danny!” Kirsch shouted. The girl started and turned. Her blue eyes glared at the satyr.

“Kirsch? What the Hell? I thought I told you to stop calling me.”

“Look, D-Bear, I wouldn’t if this wasn’t an emergency--”

“And stop calling me D-Bear!”

“Kirsch, where is the ‘she’s totally going to help us’ part again?” Carmilla whispered.

“Working on it… look, Danny, I really need your help. Can’t you do me a favor?”

“I told you, Kirsch, that when I joined the Hunters I would--wait.” Danny’s eyes narrowed, “Who is with you?”

“Girls!” Kirsch exclaimed, “Halfblood girls. They need help getting to Camp Halfblood. Danny, please.”

“Girls?”

“Hello!” Laura squeaked, blushing scarlet. Carmilla rolled her eyes at Laura, raising a hand.

“‘Sup.”

Danny wrinkled her nose, staring at the three of them for a long moment before heaving a deep sigh. “Okay, Kirsch. Keep trying to get your Halfbloods to Long Island. Don’t wait for us--we’ll find you, okay? Assuming the Hunters actually agree to this…”

“Artemis likes you, Danny, I bet you can get her to say yes!”

“You’re just lucky you’re trying to escort two girls to camp, or else you’d be on your own.” Danny answered, “Good luck.”

“Thanks, D-Bear!”

“And don’t call me--”

Kirsch swiped a hand through the mist, breaking the connection.

“Who was that?” Laura asked.

“Old friend,” Kirsch answered, “And she’s going to help us out. Come on, let’s keep moving.”

“Whoever she is, she better help,” Carmilla muttered.

“I bet she will. She seemed really heroic. And tall--”

Carmilla looked at Laura, raising an eyebrow. “Do you seriously have a crush on some redhead Kirsch talked to for no more than a minute?”

“N-no! Those are objective observations.”

“And your face turning a nice shade of cranberry red is because…”

“Shut up.”

* * *

 

As soon as Kirsch disconnected the Iris message, Danny turned around.

“Making deals with men without asking Lady Artemis first, Lawrence?”

Danny’s hands curled into fists. “Mel, don’t start. Take it up with Thalia if you got a problem with it--”

“A problem with what, Danny?”

Danny and Mel turned to look at their lieutenant. Immediately, they pointed at each other.

“Danny is fraternizing with the enemy--”

“--Mel would rather I let two girls die if it means helping a guy--

“--It’s not our job to do a satyr’s work for him, Danny!”

“Both of you, cool it!” Thalia shouted.

Mel got out of Danny’s face.

“... Danny, you shouldn’t have agreed to help a guy without bringing it to me first.”

“HA!”

“And Mel, you’re not lieutenant, stop acting like your opinion means any more than Danny’s.”  

Mel’s face fell. “But--but I’ve been here far longer than Danny has!”

“And you both are the same rank. Danny, Mel, come on.”

Danny hung her head and followed Thalia.

“Thalia, look, I’m sorry--”

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to Lady Artemis.” Thalia answered, stopping in front of Artemis’s tent.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Your funeral,” Mel said, flashing a wicked grin and pushing Danny into the tent.

There was something about Lady Artemis that made it difficult for Danny to speak. She sat in front of her, a deer resting its head in her lap. Her silver eyes appraised Danny curiously.

“And what is the reason for this unannounced visit, Danny?”

Danny bowed to her. Something about Artemis, in a twelve year old body, looking at Danny with such maturity, such intensity… it was mesmerizing. Unsettling.

“M’lady, I promised help for an old friend. Please forgive me for not asking your permission first…”

She explained everything that Kirsch had said. Artemis’s expression didn’t change.

“I don’t appreciate what you did, Danny.”

“I’m sorry, m’lady. But… he begged me for help. What was I supposed to do?”

Danny still looked at the ground, eyes shut tight. She was startled by a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see Artemis right in front of her.

“I, too, know what it is like to have annoying siblings,” Artemis said, “And to be loyal to them in spite of it. You said he is escorting two girls to Camp Halfblood?”

“Yes.”

“Then perhaps we can gain two new members in the process. Come.”

Artemis walked out of the tent. Danny followed.

“Hunters, we have a new mission. Two young girls need safe passage to Camp Halfblood.”

“But Lady Artemis, we’re not escorts, we’re hunters!” Mel protested.

“And you will not argue with me, Melanippe.” Artemis snapped. “Gather your equipment, and we’ll go. And Danny?”

“Yes?”

“Do not assume you can make promises without my permission again. I may not be so willing to help next time.”

“Y-yes. Of course.”

Artemis strode away, bow in hand.

“You are a disgrace,” Mel hissed in Danny’s ear as she walked past, “You will never be a true hunter if you help every pathetic male begging for your help. Artemis only favors you because you’re a daughter of Apollo--”

“If anything, Artemis likes Danny _in spite_ of that.” Thalia interrupted, “Now come on, Mel, we are a team. Let’s go.”

The other hunters left; Danny trailed behind. The newest, the one who hadn’t yet proved herself. Maybe Mel was right; maybe she was too soft.

But what was she supposed to do, leave her brother and two girls to die?


	4. Carmilla takes 'road rage' to a whole new level

They kept moving through the city for about an hour before Carmilla got tired of walking.

“Hey, Kirsch, monsters are attracted by cellphones, right?” Carmilla asked.

“Yes?”

“Are they attracted by cars, too?”

“No. But we need to wait for Danny and the Hunters!”

Carmilla shook her head, weaving her way through the crowds of people on main street. “Would you rather wait for the monsters to try and eat us?”

“I’m with Carmilla, Kirsch,” Laura agreed, “as much as I want to meet Danny, we can’t just wait for them like sitting ducks.”

“If you can find a car, be my guest, but--”

“You mean, like that empty car over there?” Carmilla asked, pointing to one parked on the street.

“Isn’t that stealing?” Laura asked.

“And isn’t that car parked illegally? What was the driver expecting?”

“A ticket, not that his car would get stolen! Do you even know how to drive?” Laura asked.

“I have an idea.”

“Carmilla, as your guardian, I can’t condone this!”

Carmilla looked at Kirsch, flashing a wicked smirk. “Oh… oh, I’m sorry Kirsch, look at my legs. They’re moving on their own.”

She would have never tried it with Ell around--AKA ‘her conscience’--but Ell was gone, Carmilla wanted to get out of Bethlehem as quickly as possible, and whoever left their car window open on a hot day also left their keys with it.

“You’re lying,” Laura said, “You don’t know how to drive. Why do you get to?”

“Because I’m older than you.”

“But you’re still too young to drive.”

“Shut up and get in the car.”

Laura’s eyes narrowed, but she slipped into shotgun. “Kirsch, you coming?”

“This is so bad. And illegal. And bad.” Kirsch grumbled, sitting in the back seat. Carmilla twisted the key in the ignition.

“See? This isn’t that hard.”

“Now what?” Laura asked.

“Um…” Carmilla pressed her feet gently on the gas pedal. It lurched forward.

“See? I can drive!” Carmilla said.

“Go slowly?” Laura suggested. She looked back at Kirsch. “Kirsch, are you praying?”

“Hermes,” Kirsch mumbles, “God of travellers. _Please,_ let her not crash into anything…”

“Well, we should probably take the back roads, we’ll avoid police officers, right?” Laura asked. “I kind of feel like we should take a left, here.”

“A right would be faster.”

“But--”

Carmilla turned the wheel. They went right--and went over a curb. And, as it turned out, there was a police cruiser on the road.

“CARMILLA!” Kirsch and Laura both shouted.

“I’m _sorry,_ okay?” Carmilla snapped. In her peripheral vision she could see the flashing of police sirens. “Oh, _crap.”_

Carmilla managed to stop the car. The officer walked up to it. His dark sunglasses were… unsettling, to say the least.

“Hello officer,” Carmilla squinted to read his nametag, “... Joe?”

_Please look older than I am, please look older than I am, please look--_

“Miss, you look quite young to be driving.”

Well, that’s just great. “Really?”

“Yes. And it showed from the way you went over that curb. If you don’t have a license, I’ll have to ask you to step out of the vehicle.”

Carmilla normally wasn’t bad under pressure. She did just kill, like, four hellhounds after all. But lying was a different thing. That, she needed to prepare for.

“Er, uh--sure, officer, just give me one, uh--second, here--” Carmilla’s mind was going blank. Completely blank. Just when she thought she was screwed, she felt a hand go into her jeans pocket and pull something out.

“Here it is, officer!” Laura exclaimed, holding out one of Ell’s cards. Carmilla stared at her.

 _Seriously?_ Carmilla mouthed to Laura. Laura shrugged.

Kirsch was pointing to his throat. Carmilla was confused--oh, right. Charmspeak.

 _Why yes, officer, that Queen of Hearts totally means I can legally drive this vehicle._ Yeah. That might work.

“Uh, yeah. That is a license. A driver’s license.”

The police officer handed the card back, eyes narrowed.

“You are more clever than I thought, daughter of Aphrodite.”

“Wait, _what?”_

 _“Guys,”_ Kirsch made a gesture, some weird thing where he made a claw over his heart and pushed it in the direction of the… the…

“Let me guess,” Carmilla said dryly, “You’re are not a cop.”

The officer took off the glasses and his hat. No eyes. Except for the one in the middle of his forehead the hat had been covering covering.

“No, I’m not.”

“That’s _great_ and GOODBYE!”

Carmilla slammed the gas. The cyclops held onto the window, which Carmilla had rolled down, and he tried to climb in.

“Shake him off Carmilla, SHAKE HIM OFF!” Laura shouted.

“What do you think I’m _trying_ to do?” Carmilla jerked the wheel left and right. The cyclops let go with one hand, but the other was still very much attached to the window--Carmilla could see the metal buckling underneath his claws.

“You are driving recklessly, you need to pull over!”

“Yeah, because _you’re_ really a cop!” Kirsch shouted.

“I told you not to steal the car, Carmilla!” Laura said, “I said ‘don’t steal, Carmilla. A cyclops will totally try and eat us if you do, Carmilla’--”

“Whoa, whoa, I don’t remember that--LAURA REACH INTO MY POCKET FOR THE SWORD!”  ‘Officer Joe’ made a mad swipe for Carmilla; she leaned back. Laura shoved her hand into Carmilla’s pocket, finding the retainer.

“Um, how do I--” It suddenly turned into a sword in her hand, elongating so the blade was inches away from hitting Carmilla’s nose.

“Can you aim for the _monster,_ please?” Kirsch yelped.

“Got it! Uh--take that!” Laura sort of awkwardly thrust the blade forward and manage to hit the cyclops in the shoulder. He roared with pain and let go.

“YES! Not bad, Cupcake--”

_CRASH._

The airbags deployed as they collided with a telephone pole; the whiplash was nasty.

“Wow, that was bad.” Carmilla rubbed her head. “Laura, are you okay…? _Laura?”_

Laura’s head was back against the seat; her eyes were closed.

No. No no no. Carmilla barely knew Laura, didn’t even like her that much, but she could _not_ lose two people in one day. Especially when it was two people she felt like she should be protecting….

Kirsch reached over. He checked her pulse, moved her head. “No--she’s breathing! She’s hurt, but she’ll be alright.”

Carmilla managed to wrench the door open. She could see the cyclops lumbering over to them, leaking something gold from his shoulder.

Seriously, _what_ did the mist make this look like?

Carmilla looked back at Kirsch. “Take care of Laura.”

“Carmilla, that thing is a cyclops. They’re way tougher than hellhounds, he’ll--”

“What choice do I have?” Carmilla reached in and pulled the sword from Laura’s hand. She planted her feet. If she was going down, this monster was going to go down with her.

“HA! Think you can fight me, Halfblood?”

“You don’t want to fight me. I’m too dangerous. I’ve fought monsters much stronger than you.”

The cyclops stopped, blinked stupidly, then shook his head. “NO! Your magic will not confuse me.”

 _“I_ don’t even know how it works,” Carmilla mumbled.

He roared and charged. Carmilla raised her sword, gritting her teeth. He was getting so close she could see saliva dripping off the points of his fangs--

And then suddenly his knees buckled, and he crashed into Carmilla from sheer momentum. She was so surprised she didn’t dodge; she fell on her back, sword clattering to the ground.

Carmilla groped around and felt something sticking out of his back. Carmilla pulled it out.

An arrow.

“Need help?”

In the glare of the sun Carmilla could barely make out the face of the girl from Kirsch’s iris message.

“How did you get here so fast?”

“Goddess,” she answered simply. She used her foot and rolled the cyclops over on his back, off Carmilla. She took a dagger from her belt, twirled it in her hand deftly, and stabbed him in the eye. He disappeared in a shower of golden sparks.

“Cyclops are so easy to kill,” Danny said. She looked at Carmilla and cleared her throat. “I mean, obviously not if you’re new at the whole halfblood thing.”

She held out a hand. Carmilla didn’t take it, scrambling to her feet.

“My--the other demigod I’m traveling with. She’s in that car and it crashed. She’s hurt.”

Danny looked over at the crashed car. “Seriously, Kirsch let you _drive?_ God, he is so stupid… okay.”

Carmilla was suddenly very aware of all the other girls walking up from behind Danny, all wearing the silver in their hair and camouflage clothing. One girl with a silver circlet on her head walked next to Danny, crossing her arms. She had spiky black hair, and a shirt with a frowny face on it with x’s for eyes. Her eyes were so icy blue that she could have frozen death to the spot.

She immediately became Carmilla’s favorite of the hunters.

“You found them, Danny?”

“Yeah. She says the others are in that car. One of them is hurt. Guessing Kirsch is watching her right now.”

Thalia looked back. “Mel! Help Danny, make sure the girl can be moved.”

Mel walked up. “I have to deal with bro-for-brains?”

“Come on Mel, Lieutenant talking here.”

She looked at Carmilla, her red parka so bright it almost hurt her eyes. Her jaw jutted out as she sized her up.

Mel quickly became Carmilla’s least favorite.

“... Alright, let’s get this babysitting over with.”

Carmilla puffed out her chest a little. “Babysitting? _Babysitting?_ Seriously, I just killed an empousa, four hellhounds, _and_ went on a high speed chase with a cyclops holding onto the car door. I wouldn’t call giving us a little help _babysitting.”_

“Hey.”

Carmilla turned around. A girl, no older than Carmilla’s age, with auburn hair gathered in a ponytail and black leggings. She didn’t know why, but she immediately knew: this was the leader. And she shouldn’t mess with her.

“You have been through an ordeal,” she said, “but I will not have you picking fights with my maidens.”

Mel smirked.

“As for _you,_ Melanippe, Thalia told you to help Danny check on Carmilla’s friend. _Now.”_

“Y-yes, Lady Artemis.” Mel walked off with Danny.

“Carmilla Karnstein, daughter of Aphrodite,” Artemis said. “I have heard about you. My condolences for the passing of your friend.”

Every mention of Ell’s passing sent a wave of nausea through Carmilla’s stomach. “Thanks. But I guess focusing on the living is more important.”

Artemis smiled. “Wise words. And I do not normally say that to a daughter of Aphrodite.”

They were interrupted by a squeal. When Carmilla looked back at the car, Kirsch had his arms wrapped around Danny.

“BRO! How are you, D-Bear?”

Danny awkwardly patted Kirsch on the back. “Uh--hey, Kirsch.”

“I knew you’d help us! I took good care of Laura, here--I mean, other than the car crash. But I kept her still and gave her some ambrosia, and I think she’ll be fine after a little rest.”

“Sure, Kirsch, sure.”

Mel laid Laura out on the street. “She’s still unconscious, though. Phoebe,” she looked up at another hunter, “Go find us the medical supplies?”

Phoebe ran off.

Danny crossed her arms and looked down at her, nudging her with her foot. She

smiled.

“I hope she’ll be alright. She’s kind of cute--”  

Laura stirred, and struggled a little sitting up, looking at Danny.

“Wait, did you say I’m _cute?”_


	5. Carmilla and crew spend a night with the eternal maidens

Before Carmilla could even understand what was happening they were hustled out of there. The amount of distance they were covering in about an hour was impressive, to say the least. Carmilla attributed it to magic because they were travelling with a goddess. Or something.

Laura looked like she was having the time of her life. So did Kirsch. Danny walked between them, smiling at Laura and tolerating her brother.

 _Brother._ Carmilla couldn’t wrap her head around it. So did that mean she might have a satyr half-sibling somewhere?

Then again, she couldn’t really imagine her mother, the goddess of love and beauty, ever settling for a goat. _Thank the Gods._

They set up camp in some woods off the highway. Within minutes there were tents, a fire, and hunters running off to go get food. Artemis, however, stayed, retreating into some tent. Danny and Thalia stayed too, but they didn’t go anywhere.

“Carmilla, look!” Laura said, holding up Danny’s bow, “They just _appear_ whenever they want them. Isn’t that cool?”

“Oh, absolutely _fascinating,”_ Carmilla drawled, spreading out on a log.

“I see you’re adjusting to being a demigod pretty well,” Thalia said, sitting next to her, “That was pretty impressive, seeing you ready to stand up to a cyclops.”

“Yeah, well, it’s pretty easy to be brave when your only other option is slow, painful death.”  

Thalia raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t give an answer. Good. Carmilla didn’t want to talk.

“So, hey, how old are you?” Danny asked Laura, leaning against a tree trunk.

“Fourteen,” Laura answered.

“You get claimed yet, then?”

Laura frowned. “No. Should I have been?”

“The new rule is thirteen, now,” Danny said.

“‘New rule?’”

Carmilla sat up and listened.

“Yeah. See, we had this _huge_ war a few months ago. Between the demigods and the titans. It was insane! The titan lord Kronos and his army of monsters and even a few gods, they took over New York and for a few days they tore the place up. It was _sick_ bro--”

 _“Kirsch,”_ Danny said.

“--Anyway, we won. ‘Cause of this kid name Percy Jackson. And the gods said he could have whatever he wanted. He said he wanted the gods to start claiming all of their kids by the time they were thirteen.”

Laura sat on the ground, crossing her legs. “What about _me_ then?”

Kirsch shrugged. “Dunno. Gods love loopholes. The ones that already turned thirteen without being claimed? Technically, they still don’t need to do anything about them.”

“It was a stupid rule to have them follow, anyway.” Mel walked into camp, a rabbit tied to her belt.

“I’m sure _you’d_ think so, Mel,” Danny said, rolling her eyes. Mel glared at her.

(Or did she? Mel glared at everyone, as far as Carmilla could tell.)

“Before, a demigod had to prove themselves before they were honored with knowing their heritage. You had to embody the qualities of your godly parent. _Now,_ any fool, however incompetent, still gets claimed. Where is the honor of being a demigod when that’s the case?”

Carmilla saw Mel turning her attention to Kirsch as she said it. Laura bit her lip uncomfortably as Kirsch looked away.

“Well, I know you’ll get claimed, Laura,” Danny said loudly, “Just give it some time.”

“Yeah!” Kirsch said hopefully, “Maybe your mom is waiting for you to get to Camp Halfblood. You know, to make sure you’ll be… alive…”

Laura stared at Kirsch. He realized what he said and smiled sheepishly.

“With _you_ as their guide, I’m not surprised her mother isn’t getting her hopes up,” Mel said.

 _“Hey,”_ Carmilla snapped, “He got us a personal escort by all of _you,_ didn’t he?”

“You are a guest of the hunters, daughter of Aphrodite, and I would watch your tone--”  

“Mel…” Thalia said, warning her to watch it. Carmilla shook her head at Thalia.

“Out of curiosity, who is your parent?”

“Her dad is Ares,” Danny interrupted.

“Interesting. Doesn’t _my_ mother have _your_ father whipped?”

Kirsch and Laura started to snigger. Danny’s eyes widened as she looked at Mel, trying not to look too amused.

“He--who ever said--you need to learn some respect!” Mel stomped off. Danny whistled.

 _“Pretty_ ballsy, Karnstein.”

“Yeah, well, I never liked bullies.”

Thalia got up. “I’m going to go talk to her.” She walked away, combat boots thudding against the ground.

Kirsch slinked away and joined Carmilla on the log. “Um, hey. Thanks for sticking up for me like that. Even though I don’t deserve it.”

Carmilla shrugged. “As much as I hate to say it… we’re a team. If I’m stuck with you, I’m not going to let someone bad mouth you. Purely out of respect for myself.”

Kirsch looked downward. “Yeah.”

Carmilla’s gaze softened slightly, and she sighed. “And hey--you aren’t doing a bad job. We made it this far.”

“I _am_ doing a bad job. Mel is right. I’m the worst guardian ever. If I hadn’t turned thirteen a month ago Apollo would have never admitted I was his son. I’m not cool, I can’t shoot a bow and arrow like Danny, I’m not good at music--”

“You’re good at pan pipes, Kirsch,” Laura said politely, having just joined in on the conversation to sit next to him.

 _“All_ satyrs know the pan pipes. That doesn’t count. Point is, I’m a joke.”

“You are not,” Laura said. Okay, he kind of was, but a depressed guardian would do even worse than one that was just bad at his job, so Carmilla let Laura continue. “Look--okay, so stuff hasn’t gone well so far. But it doesn’t matter how many times we almost die on our way to Camp Halfblood. Your job is to get us there _alive._ And you have. You found us a way there. That counts for something.”

Kirsch sniffled, grabbing a dandelion off the ground and chewing it. “I didn’t save Ell.”

At mention of the name, Carmilla took out the deck of cards that were still in her pocket, shuffling them.

“Who’s Ell?” Laura asks.

“Ell was… my friend,” Carmilla answered.

 _“Our_ friend,” Kirsch corrected, “She was nice to me. She showed me her magic tricks and always told the kids not to make fun of me when I tried to eat the paper plates at dinner. And… and…” Kirsch started full out sobbing. Carmilla scooted a few inches away.

“I j-just w-watched her get k-killed by that m-monster.”

“You watched your friend get killed by a _monster?”_ Laura asked, horrified.

Carmilla’s entire body was tensing. “Yes. I know you’re sorry, and I appreciate it, but I don’t want to talk about it. And Kirsch, if you want to make up for it, you’ll stop talking about it around me, too.”

Laura hugged her knees to her chest. “... I miss my dad,” Laura said, changing the subject, “I wish I could talk to him. He must be really worried. Do you think he called the police by now? He probably did. Kirsch, could I iris message him?”

“When we get to camp, Laura,” Kirsch said, rubbing his nose on his sleeve, “I promise.”

Carmilla looked at them. “Guys, just--look, I know you guys want to have this kum-bay-ya feelings pow-wow and everything, but--can you please leave me alone? It’s not personal, I’m just not in the mood.”

“Um… hey, Kirsch, let’s go talk to Danny again. It’ll be fun. She can tell us more about the Titan War thing.” Laura took Kirsch’s hand and pulled him up. He walked away with Laura, dejected.

Carmilla shuffled the cards, sighing. She wasn’t ready to let it hit her yet. Not when she had no idea if something was going to crash through the bushes trying to kill her.

“Hey, Carmilla.”

She looked up. “Thalia. How’d the chat with Mel go?”

Thalia sighed, sitting down. “About as well as it could have. She pretended to agree with me, at least.”  

“She seems like a real team player, Mel.”

She ran a hand through short, spiky black hair. “She’s one of the best fighters we’ve got. Next to _me,_ at least. Danny’s a better shot, but I’ve never met anyone more ruthless than Mel. She’s isn’t a bad hunter. Fearless. I think she’s a little bitter, though.”

“Of what?”

“She thought _she_ was next in line for lieutenant. Our old one, Zoe, she…” Thalia swallowed, “Well, she’s up there,” she pointed at the sky. Carmilla looked up at the stars and her eyes widened in realization.  

“...Wait, you mean that new constellation they found, ‘the Huntress?’ No _way.”_

Thalia looked at her and nodded.

Carmilla remembered when she first heard the news. She begged Maman to let them stay out to look at the new constellation. She finally watched from the porch as Ell spread out a blanket and laid with her for hours…

“My friend and I made up all these stories about how it got there.”

“Well, she died fighting the titan Atlas after getting bit by a dragon.”

“We settled on her fighting off a pack of wolves to save her child. Wow, we were off.”

Thalia laughed. “Yeah. I joined the hunters right afterward. And then I was made lieutenant. Mel was there almost as long as Zoe and she was convinced she deserved it. Hasn’t gotten over it.”

“What is with her ‘daughter of Aphrodite’ crap, too?”

“We have a… turbulent history with you guys. Daughters of the love goddess, maidens who swore off men? You can imagine our debates get kind of intense.”

“Well, I’m gay, so you’re not going to get that from me.”  

“I never had a problem with Aphrodite’s children. I thought, after the Titan War… you know, you had a sister who was one of the bravest people I’ve ever met. She fought a dragon to save all of us, even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to win.”

“Oh. Yeah. Kirsch told me a little bit about her.”

“Silena Beauregard. If I had to guess, she’s in Elysium right now. I thought after that I could convince the hunters to give you all a little more respect, but...you know, centuries worth of habits die hard.”

 _Her sister._ Carmilla had a sister. In fact, she had a lot of sisters, probably brothers, too. The idea that she would get to camp and suddenly have an entire family…

“You know, you don’t seem like your typical daughter of Aphrodite,” Thalia continued, “I think you might make a good huntress. Would you ever consider joining up?”

Carmilla looked out at the camp, huntresses everywhere cooking and pitching tents. “I appreciate it, but I’m not what you’d call a ‘team player’.”

“Hey, neither was I.”

“Maybe if camp doesn’t work out.” Carmilla said, trying to let her down gently. She liked Thalia. She was nice but she didn’t look like she took any crap. And she kind of wanted to know where she got those combat boots. Thalia reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Think about it,” she said simply.

She had worked too hard to join some huntress group before she even got to this camp--

“Carmilla!” Laura walked back over. “And Thalia. Danny told me to talk to you.”

Thalia got up. “What about, Laura?”

Laura stood up a little straighter, puffing out her chest. “I want to join the Hunters of Artemis!”

 


	6. Carmilla tries to get in touch with her religious side

Oh, _Hell_ no.

Danny was standing behind Laura, arms crossed, beaming with pride like a proud parent. Thalia looked surprised, getting to her feet.

“Oh--really. Wow. That’s fantastic! Of course you can--”

“No, she _cannot.”_ Carmilla interrupted, “Why would you even want to?”

“YEAH!” Kirsch stumbled in after them, “Danny, what the heck are you doing, bro? Getting Laura alone and tricking her?”

“There’s plenty of reasons,” Danny said, “And I did not trick her. All I did is tell her what the hunters offer her.”

“Such as…?” Carmilla asked.

Danny started counting off on her fingers. “Immortality, eternal youth, camaraderie, the chance to travel the world and experience everything her father refused to give her--”

“Laura, I swear--what, are you only saying yes because you’d get to run around with a bunch of hot nature babes or something?” Carmilla asked.

Laura turned red and shook her head. “That is _not_ why!”

Artemis had, at this point, left her tent to look at the commotion. Most of the huntresses, including Mel, did the same. Artemis whispered with Danny quietly as Carmilla continued to speak.

“You realize these are eternal _maidens,_ right? As in, virgins, as in if you’re hoping this’ll impress Agent Orange over there--”

“That’s not entirely accurate,” Artemis interrupted.

“I thought you were the _virgin_ Goddess,” Carmilla pointed out.

“Zeus has very outdated ideas about virginity...thank the Gods.”

Carmilla opened her mouth, then paused. “Wait. So you all…”

“Among the older ones it’s certainly not a _rare_ occurrence.”

 _Okay._ Carmilla suddenly saw this whole camp in a slightly different light.

An eternity running around with toned, attractive, badass lesbians was definitely a tempting offer. Carmilla wasn’t going to pledge an eternity to Artemis on that, but she could see why Laura might be interested.

Still--no. She fought hellhounds and got into a car crash with a cyclops. This girl was going to Camp Halfblood.

“Laura, think about this. You can’t just throw your life away because you think this girl is cute!”

“Why do you care?”

“Laura, you don’t need to argue with Carmilla,” Artemis said, “If you take the pledge, she cannot stop you.”

She turned to Artemis. “Then I’ll take the pledge.”

“NO!” Kirsch stepped between Artemis and Laura. He was looking at the goddess. “How can you do this? How can you do this _again_?”

“Kirsch--”

“I said _no!_ No talking! You can’t do this, Lady Artemis. You can’t just come in and keep stealing my friends, telling them,” his eyes flitted toward Danny, “that they’d be better off without me. You’re not doing this again. Laura is coming with us. I don’t care. Laura, come on, you need to at least see what camp looks like!”

For all his righteous anger and puffing out of his chest, Artemis was wholly unimpressed. 

“...I would be angrier if I was not so surprised. You satyrs tend to be a babbling, incoherent mess around me. As animated as your anger is, however, you pose absolutely no danger to me, so…” Artemis looked at Laura. “Are you ready?”

Laura looked at Kirsch, biting her lip. “Oh man...Kirsch…I mean, Lady Artemis, Kirsch went to all this trouble. I don’t want to make him _cry_.”

“Are you really going to forgo immortality because of some idiotic, babbling satyr?” Mel interrupted.

“You really need to learn when your input is not needed, Mel,” Thalia answered.

“Yeah, seriously Mel, shut up,” the one next to her added, “Although I wouldn’t mind if that chick joined, it would be cool--”

“Same with you, Elsie!” Thalia snapped, “Laura, do you want to join or not?”

Laura looked at Kirsch’s heartbroken face. Then at Carmilla.

Carmilla didn’t want to admit it, but if Laura said yes, she’d be kind of hurt. Like she said--hellhounds. And a car crash. Laura was an investment she didn’t want to lose to Big Red.

“...I guess I _should_ see Camp Halfblood first,” Laura smiled at Kirsch, “I’ve heard so much about it that I can’t give up when we’re almost there.”

Kirsch perked up immediately, practically tackling Laura to the ground. “You’re not gonna’ regret this, L-Dog! Camp Halfblood is _awesome_!”

Carmilla caught a small smile playing at the corner of her lips before she sighed, looking at Artemis. She seemed to share some sort of telepathic conversation with Danny. Maybe even a _literal_ one, considering that Carmilla didn’t know all of the perks that came with this whole hunter of Artemis thing.

“Come on,” Danny said, “Let’s all go to sleep. We’ll keep moving in the morning and hopefully make it to Camp Halfblood by tomorrow evening at the latest. Your tent is the green canvas one.”

“All three of us?”

Danny’s mouth quirked to the side. “It’s bigger on the inside.”

“Good night, Miss Karnstein,” Artemis added, “And your friends. I hope you will reconsider our offer.”

“Sure.”

Kirsch and Laura got up and followed Carmilla into the tent, Laura avoiding eye contact with all of the girls. “Hey, Carmilla?”

Laura caught up with her, and Carmilla sighed. “Yes?”

“Listen, I...I mean, I’m sorry I almost said yes.”

“Why are you apologizing to me…?”

“Because Kirsch is right. We’re a team. And we need to stick together no matter what.” Laura put a hand to her chest. “I promise I’m going to pull my own weight. You’ve done so much, fighting a cyclops and driving and everything...that’s why I almost joined the Hunters. I didn’t want to be a burden on you anymore.”

The tent was bigger on the inside. They each had their own beds, not even bunks. Carmilla hopped onto her own. “...Look, you’re not a burden. At the very least, you’re a source of slightly intelligent conversation. Without you it would just be me and Kirsch--”

“Hey!”

“--Believe me, you are wanted. Otherwise I’d go crazy.”

Laura smiled softly. “And Kirsch, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, dude.”

“What is up with you and Gingersnap?” Carmilla asked.

“Nothing. I mean--we were friends. At camp. That’s all.”

Kirsch turned over and pretended to start snoring.

“Goodnight, Carmilla.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

After a while Carmilla could hear gentle snoring from Laura’s bed. Slowly, Carmilla crawled out of hers, unable to sleep.

She’d never prayed to God, let alone a god. But Carmilla folded her hands together and gave it her best shot.

“Uh...hey. Mom, I guess? Look. Thanks for rescuing me.”

Carmilla paused, frowned, and closed her eyes tightly.

“Why me? You...you’re a goddess. And gods are supposed to do anything. So why...she was trying to _save me._ She was trying to save me and I had to leave her there. It’s my fault Ell is dead...I would have rather Maman kill me, too. I didn’t deserve to be rescued.”

Carmilla shook her head; this was only making her feel worse. It wasn’t time to wallow in self pity. It was time to get the three of them to camp, safe.

She may not deserve to get to camp safely, but she let Kirsch drag Laura into this. And Laura _did_ deserve to not get eaten by monsters.

“...Just please get these two idiots I’m traveling with to camp safely,” Carmilla finally grumbled. She laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling until exhaustion finally forced her to sleep.

* * *

 

“ALL OF YOU LADIES UP!”

Carmilla sat up, clutching her chest. Mel had thrown open the entrance flap of the tent. Outside, Carmilla could hear a sound like someone blowing into a ram’s horn.

 _“Jesus,”_ Carmilla said, frowning a little, “What the heck? The sun hasn’t even come up!”

“We get up bright and early here,” Mel answered, “You travel with us, you follow our rules--your friend is already up.”

“Wait, she’s…?”

“Hey, Carmilla!” Laura walked back into the tent, past Mel. “I saved you a muffin, here!”

“You got five minutes,” Mel said, “Get dressed.”

Laura tossed the muffin to Carmilla; she caught it, looking at Laura as she sat down on her own bed.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Kirsch is outside flirting with all the Hunters. He’s kind of doing a really bad job if you want to see. I think they would have killed him already if Danny wasn’t there.”

Carmilla took a bite of her muffin, breathing in the scent of pumpkin.

“So…” Laura swung her legs a little, tilting her head. “We’re going to make it to camp today, huh? That’s what Danny told me.”

“Hopefully. I guess.”

Laura bit her lip. Carmilla sighed.

“Okay, what’s wrong?”

“What if they don’t like me?” Laura blurted out. Carmilla looked up from her muffin.

“Wait, what?”

“I’ve never had that many friends,” Laura explained quickly, “I was always in remedial classes ‘cause of my dyslexia, and I could never sit still or pay attention in class. No one ever wanted to play with me because weird stuff happened around me all the time. What if everyone still thinks I’m weird?”

Carmilla rolled her eyes. “Laura, this isn’t middle school.” She frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“...I have ADHD and dyslexia, too. Just a weird coincidence.”

“Kirsch said a lot of demigods do,” Laura said with a shrug.

“In that case, you’ll make plenty of friends. Everyone is just as weird as you are there. And, I mean...you’re nice. I guess.”

“My own _mother_ doesn’t want me, Carmilla,” Laura answered, eyes cast to the floor.

“Yeah, well...you’re annoying, but I wouldn’t denying knowing you. Especially not if you were my own kid. That’s on your mother.”

A smile spread across Laura’s face. “Thank you Carmilla. And hey,” she got up, “At least we’ll be friends, right?”

Carmilla mumbled a ‘whatever’ as Laura skipped out. She finished her muffin, threw the wrapper on the ground, and walked out to join the others.

 


End file.
